


Worth Waiting For

by lioness44



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Past Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Pre-Canon, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Pre-Relationship, shiro's husband - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 07:38:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17576660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lioness44/pseuds/lioness44
Summary: A quick fic that shows Shiro and Curtis pre-Kerberos and sets up their future relationship.* follow up chapters are in the story file called It Always Comes Back to You





	Worth Waiting For

**Author's Note:**

> This story is canon compliant, and it's a different take on the Adam/Shiro relationship than most people go for, but it is from Curtis's POV. Plus, I think Shiro deserves a great love story.

**Worth Waiting For**

 

“So, how long have you been in love with Shiro? Because that’s some pretty serious pining you’re doing, and I don’t think a person could pull off that level of mastery without years of practice.”

Curtis’s heart gave a jolt in his chest and he tore his gaze away from the tall, dark-haired man who stood at the bar laughing with an ever-growing circle of friends and admirers. Tomorrow the sleek, three man shuttle to Kerberos would launch early in the morning, but the Garrison had celebrated this afternoon with an assembly and far too many boring speeches. Now the real celebration had begun. Seemed like the entire campus was here at the local bar. The place was crowded and noisy, hot from so many bodies pressing in.

Across from him at their small table, Matt Holt sipped his drink – a cola, thanks to the fact that his friend was still underage and he’d be going into space tomorrow – and regarded him with a half amused, half serious look.

Curtis’s cheeks heated. “I’m not pining. Admiring, sure. Who wouldn’t? Takashi is …”

 _Special._ That’s the word Curtis wanted to use, but it would reveal too much of the private mixture of lust, admiration, and compassion he felt for the man.

“… beautiful,” he said instead.

Matt snorted. “Oh, I see. You’re admiring him as a work of art. Purely aesthetic?"

“Exactly.”

“So you wouldn’t sleep with him if you had the chance?”

Curtis laughed. “Right. As if that would ever be an option.”

“I don’t know,” Matt said, shaking his head. “You do realize that he and Adam broke up back when the crew was announced. Maybe Shiro wants to find someone to rebound with. Not that I’d recommend putting yourself in that position normally, but if it meant getting fucked by Takashi Shirogane …”

It never failed to surprise Curtis when things like that came out of Matt’s mouth. Matt had joined the Garrison early thanks to his genius level test scores, so he was still only eighteen – and he looked even younger than that, seventeen at best – but he could still keep up with the other cadets and their trash talk. Between his age, his youthful looks, and having a parent on staff at the Garrison, it had been hard for Matt to make friends, but Curtis liked the guy. In fact, he liked the whole family. As Commander Holt’s teaching assistant, he’d been invited to numerous meals at the Holt household, and they were nearly as boisterous as his own family back home in Pakistan with his five siblings, aunts, uncles, and innumerable cousins.

Despite Matt’s age, Curtis had always gone out of his way not to treat Matt any differently than he treated his other friends, and he wasn’t about to start now.

“Who says he’d be the one doing the fucking?” Curtis said, arching one brow. Because if there was one thing Curtis could guess about Takashi Shirogane it was how desperately the man needed to cede control every once in a while.

Matt’s jaw had fallen open, and Curtis suspected that despite his friend dishing out the sex-talk, he hadn’t been quite prepared to hear it in return. His entire face was pink and he sipped at his ginger ale as if it might suddenly disappear.

Curtis chuckled. “So, do you know why Shiro and Adam broke up?”

Matt’s face darkened with anger. “What do you think?” he asked, pursing his lips.

“Kerberos?” Curits’s brows dipped. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why would Adam break up with him for fulfilling his dream? Shouldn’t he be happy for him? That’s why we’re all here at the Garrison – for a chance to go into space.” He paused. “Was Adam jealous that Shiro was selected and not him?”

Matt shook his head. “No. It’s more complicated than that. At least, I think it was. Shiro hasn’t talked about it, but I know Adam gave him an ultimatum. Him or the mission. He said it was because of his muscular dystrophy, but honestly, if Shiro could be medically cleared for a mission into space then that hardly seems like a valid reason.” Matt scowled. “If you ask me, I think they’d been having problems for a while now and it was an excuse for Adam to end things while leaving Shiro feeling as if he’s the one who failed.”

Curtis hoped that wasn’t true. Shiro deserved better than that. “Huh. That’s … that would suck.”

Matt shrugged. “It’s not the way Shiro sees it, of course. In his mind, he’s being selfish by choosing something for himself when he ought to stay home and …” Matt threw up his hands. “Honestly, I don’t know what Adam thinks Shiro should have stayed home to do. Sit around lamenting his condition and waiting for it to get worse? Fuck him. Shiro is a role model to every kid out there who has something about them that’s less than perfect but achieves their dreams anyway.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Curtis lifted his second shot, clinked it with Matt’s ginger ale, and gulped it down.

Anger burned through him, like the trace of the alcohol down his throat. The thought of anyone holding Shiro back from fulfilling his dreams made Curtis’s hands ball into fists.

Shiro’s diagnosis was the worst-kept secret on campus thanks to the armband he was forced to wear. Everyone knew the truth, but no one ever mentioned it in front of Shiro. Curtis had done some research when he’d first found out, and with the proper medical treatment, Shiro could live a healthy life for many more years. The mission to Kerberos was only four months long. Besides, wasn’t a shortened life-span even more reason to support him in fulfilling his dreams now while he had the chance?

Matt was right. _Fuck Adam._

Across from him, Matt laughed. “Wow. If mind-rays were weapons, I suspect that Adam would be exploding into a million pieces right now.”

Curtis liked the way the alcohol was making him relax. “I hate that guy,” he growled. “He doesn’t treat Shiro right. Who ruins what should be the most exciting moments of someone’s life by breaking up with them at the exact same time?”

They both glanced over to where Shiro was leaning against the bar. A gorgeous blonde guy hung off his elbow, but from the forced smiles he was getting, Shiro seemed to be tolerating him rather than encouraging him.

“So, why don’t you take your shot?” Matt asked.

“Me?” Curtis repeated. “No. Shiro doesn’t feel that way about me. Honestly, I’m not even sure he likes me.”

“Oh, he likes you,” Matt said. “I’m certain of it.”

Curtis couldn’t help the way his interest piqued. “What makes you say that?”

“Because when he’s around you, Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected gets all fumbly and awkward. I’ve never seen him like that with anyone else. It’s kind of adorable actually.”

Curtis sighed. “As much as I’d love to think that’s because he’s secretly nursing a crush on me, it’s not. I know why he’s like that.”

“Why?” Matt said, and the question was honest curiosity.

Curtis wasn’t sure why he felt as if he should keep the information a secret – why he had kept it a secret for all of these years. It wasn’t as if Takashi had asked him not to tell anyone. He just understood, instinctually, how hard that time had been for Shiro and how much the man hated for anyone to see his vulnerability. But now … with Matt setting off on a four-month mission with Shiro … maybe it would do him good to know. Shed some light on a different angle of Shiro’s character.

“I tutored him in Linguistics,” Curtis said at last.

Matt sat back, the surprise on his face comical. “Excuse me? Takashi Shirogane needed a tutor? When?”

“It was when he first moved to the United States from Japan. He was fourteen and I was fifteen, which at the time seemed like a huge age difference. He was struggling to master English at the same time that he was also trying to grasp linguistics, and it was too much for him. I was the top student in our class, so they assigned me to tutor him. We met once a week for a couple months until he got his grades back up.”

“That’s shocking. Like everyone else, I assumed Shiro was born perfect. But it still doesn’t explain why he’s awkward around you.”

“Actually, it does,” Curtis said. “I don’t think he’d ever failed anything in his life. He was mortified that he needed a tutor, and he never said this outright, but I got the impression that his father came down hard on him for the failure. On top of all that, he still had a strong accent back then, and the other boys teased him about it. That’s why he worked so hard to get rid of it. Trust me, Matt. His first few months at the Garrison were rough.”

Matt let out a small huff of air. “I wonder why he never told me any of that?”

Curtis had his theories, but he never got a chance to offer them because the man in question parted the crowd, heading toward their table. He looked brilliant in a black shirt that dipped into a low V at the neck and a pair of black pants that hugged his thighs.

“Hey Matt.” He ruffled the smaller man’s hair, which was something no one else on campus could get away with, but from Shiro it seemed like a distinctly big-brother like move. His eyes slid over to Curtis and for a second their gazes held before Shiro’s slipped away, his cheeks turning crimson. Just like always. “Hi Curtis.” Shiro pulled out a chair. “Mind if I join you two for a bit?”

“Really?” Matt said. “You want to join the nerd’s table when all the cool kids are waiting for you?”

Shiro laughed. “I could use a break. They’re all plastered, while I’m drinking seltzer.” He held up a glass of clear liquid that could have passed for alcohol, but Curtis wasn’t surprised to hear that it wasn’t what it appeared. Takashi was far too responsible to drink the night before a mission.

Curtis let his eyes linger on Takashi’s face. There was a glow of excitement about him, but it was tempered by the fatigue in his eyes. He’d been training hard for months now, and no doubt he was thinking about Adam tonight. Did he wish they were together for his last night planet-side?

Shiro caught him looking and fumbled his drink as he moved to set it down. A small amount sloshed on the table, and Shiro hurried to mop it up. Matt raised his eyebrows at Curtis as if to say, _see_?

“How are you feeling about tomorrow?” Curtis asked. “Nervous?”

There was a moment when Curtis thought that Shiro was going to laugh and shrug off the question. He’d offer some stock phrase about how he was a little bit nervous, of course – who wouldn’t be? – but mostly he was excited to be part of such a historic mission. But at the last second Shiro seemed to change his mind.

“Would it be bad if I said I was terrified?”

Matt’s eyes opened into huge circles. “What?! You’re not allowed to be terrified! You’re the pilot, Shiro. If you’re terrified, then we’re …”

Shiro laughed, setting one hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Relax. I was just messing with you. Everything is going to go perfectly. The truth is, I’m a little nervous, but mostly I’m excited.”

He offered a smile that Curtis could see straight through.

“So, what were you guys talking about?” Shiro asked. “Looked intense.”

Curtis and Matt exchanged glances.

“Nothing,” Matt said.

 _You,_ Curtis wanted to say. _It always comes back to you._

Curtis licked his lips. He wanted to take Takashi’s hand, lead him out of the bar, and find someplace where he could wrap him in his arms all night. Was that too much to ask of the universe? One night with the man of his dreams?

“Actually,” Matt said, a sly look on his face, “we were discussing your break-up with Adam.”

This time, it was Shiro’s turn to look stunned and Curtis’s turn to blush.

“Yeah,” Matt continued. “Curtis thinks it was pretty shitty of him to give you an ultimatum.”

Shiro turned to stare at Curtis. “Really?”

Curtis could never resist that look on Shiro’s face – so completely innocent and so intensely needy at the exact same time. What else could he say other than the truth?

“Of course,” he offered. “You have the right to follow your dreams and no one, least of all someone who claims to love you, should stand in your way. Four months is a long time, but it’s not forever, and you’re worth waiting for Takashi. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.”

It was a sappy little speech, and Curtis couldn’t believe he’d actually said it out loud, but the look on Takashi’s face made it all worth it. His eyes got watery and his jaw clenched so hard he almost looked to be in pain, but when he looked up, it was as if the entire bar had disappeared.

“So, when I get back,” Shiro said, blurting out the words, “if you’re still single … would you go on a date with me?”

Suddenly four months felt like an eternity. Curtis’s heart pounded in his chest and his breath caught in his throat. Takashi Shirogane was asking _him_ on a date?

Curtis must have frozen in shock because Matt kicked him under the table. He swallowed hard and finally managed to nod. “I’d … I’d love that.”

Shiro grinned, and damn if that grin didn’t sum up exactly why Curtis had fallen in love with Takashi in the first place. How could a man who had every reason to be an over-confident arrogant ass be so bashful and self-deprecating instead? Shiro’s cheeks flushed and when he glanced up, he actually looked surprised.

“You would?” Shiro asked.

Curtis laughed. He couldn’t help himself. He reached across the table and took Shiro’s hand.

“Yes,” he repeated. “And just so you know, I'll definitely be single. Because I meant what I said, Takashi. You’re one hundred percent worth waiting for.”


End file.
